Mike Edmisten Follower of Jesus. Husband of Nicki. Father of Ryan & Brock. Communicator of the Word.

Little Blessings

With the way I'm currently feeling, I'm thankful for the little blessings…

like Halls' new ginger ale flavored cough drops.

Rotten Week

That pretty much says it all. My grandma was rushed to the ER on Monday morning, so I spent the day trying to help out my family. And then Monday night I had a sinus avalanche happen in my head and throat, so I was out sick on Tuesday. That's why there has been a serious lack of blog action this week.

Bad Football Day

My teams went down yesterday.

The Bengals lost to the Bills 33-21.

The Colts dropped their first game of the season as they lost to their nemesis, the Patriots, by a score of 24-20.

I was pretty busy yesterday, so I didn't watch much of either game. I'm glad, because watching would have just increased my frustration.

LIE$

I love preaching on money. That sounds weird because so many preachers are scared stupid when it comes to preaching on money.

"What if I offend someone?"

"What if a visitor is put out by the message and doesn't return?"

"What if…What if…What if?"

I've got a simple answer to this. Jesus talked about money. I want to be like Jesus. So I'm gonna talk about money.

Seriously, I get so tired of the two extremes when it comes to teaching on finances and giving. One extreme is to drive the subject into the ground. Some guys are a one trick pony. They preach all giving all of the time. They give the impression that money is what drives them.

The other extreme is just as bad. Some preachers ignore the subject entirely. Or, if they do actually touch on it, they apologize for it. My family visited another church when I was on vacation last year. The church we visited was actually in the middle of a money series. I heard the preacher apologize over and over again for telling people that they need to be givers. By the end of his apology-filled message, it had become laughable. I'm sure he's a great guy and probably is a great preacher, but apologizing for telling someone the truth is a mistake.

So I want to hit the subject of giving with a balanced, Biblical approach. Jesus talked about money in 25% of his teaching, so it's obviously important to him. And I just want to present the subject with biblical integrity.

I really think we nailed it in the first message of our LIE$ series. It was awesome to see God moving as the message progressed. I take no credit or glory for what happened at ACC this morning. All the glory goes vertical. I do believe that God is going to do some incredible stuff in our lives and in our church as we strive to become the extravagant givers that he's called us to be. I honestly believe God is gonna knock our socks off!

APEX & Falling Back

Don't forget that APEX is tonight at 6:00 pm. The auditorium doors open at 5:40 pm. We're going to rock out as we bring God the worship that only He deserves. And God is going to move as we explore how to face the giants in our lives. You won't want to miss out.

And after APEX, remember to set your clocks back one hour before you hit the sack. APEX and then an extra hour of sleep…talk about a Super Size combo for your weekend!

Nexus Video

Brian Morrissey unveiled a new direction in our student ministry last night. Big changes are coming, as is shown in this video. It's gonna be awesome!

Profound Thought

A bus station is where a bus stops.

A train station is where a train stops.

On my desk, I have a work station.